News Archives 2004

HEADLINES

“Greenspan Warns That U.S. Deficits Pose Risk to Dollar” (NYT, 11-19-04)
“FRANKFURT, Nov. 19 - Alan Greenspan came to the home of the euro today and warned anxious Europeans to expect little relief from the relentless decline of the dollar against their currency”
“This is not the first time Mr. Greenspan has warned about the risks of a spiraling current-account deficit. In testimony before Congress last February, he said "foreign investors, both private and official, may become less willing to absorb ever-growing claims on U.S. residents."
“As he did last winter, Mr. Greenspan said today that his preferred remedy would be for the Bush administration to bring down both the current-account and budget deficits. That would encourage household savings in the United States, which are also at extraordinarily low levels”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/19/business/19cnd-greenspan.html?hp&ex=1100926800&en=265 918b7fd2a8d29&ei=5094&partner=homepage

“U.S. General speaks out on new abuse probe” (USAt, 12-5)
“Gen. Mark Kimmitt, now based in Qatar, spoke on the pan-Arab television network a day after the U.S. military launched a criminal investigation into photographs that appear to show Navy SEALs in Iraq sitting on hooded and handcuffed detainees.
Other photos show what appear to be bloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head.
The photos, found by an Associated Press reporter, were among hundreds in an album posted on a commercial photo-sharing Web site by a woman who said her husband brought them from Iraq after his tour of duty.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-12-05-kimmitt_x.htm?csp=21&pubdate=Mon %20Dec%206%2007%3A43%3A20%20EST%202004

“Colin Powell Submits Resignation” (CNN, 11-15-04)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/11/15/powell/index.html

“War-racked Fallujans Seek Aid” (CNN, 11-15-04)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/15/iraq.main/index.html

Bush Moves to Privatize Social Security (USAt, 11-15)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-11-10-social-security_x.htm?csp=21&pubda te=Mon%20Nov%2015%2013%3A36%3A45%20EST%202004
“A starting point is a plan proposed by a presidential commission in 2001 that would divert 2% of workers' payroll taxes into private accounts. The remaining 4.2% — and the Social Security taxes employers pay — would go into the system, helping fund benefits for current retirees. That leaves a shortfall of at least $2 trillion to continue funding benefits for those current retirees.”

2 TRILLION DOLLARS 2,000,000,000,000.00 ( TWO MILLION MILLION DOLLARS)

IRAQ COALITION CASUALTY COUNT http://icasualties.org/oif/
US TROOP FATALATIES IN IRAQ AS OF NOV 15, 2004 : 1,225

http://www.afrtrust.org/

“U.S. Judge Halts War-Crime Trial at Guantanamo” (NYT 11-9-04)
“GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba, Nov. 8 - A federal judge ruled Monday that President Bush had both overstepped his constitutional bounds and improperly brushed aside the Geneva Conventions in establishing military commissions to try detainees at the United States naval base here as war criminals.”
“The ruling by Judge James Robertson of United States District Court in Washington brought an abrupt halt to the trial here of one detainee, one of hundreds being held at Guantánamo as enemy combatants. It threw into doubt the future of the first set of United States military commission trials since the end of World War II as well as other legal proceedings devised by the administration to deal with suspected terrorists”
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/09/politics/09gitmo.html?th=&adxnnl=1&oref=login&adxnnlx=1 100536197-ZbiN0R2NOUf0vjC7XfKFdQ

BUSH WINS:
“Confident Bush Outlines Ambitious Plans for 2nd Term”
(NYTimes Nov 5, 2004)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/05/politics/campaign/05bush.html

“Evolving Nature of Al Qaeda Is Misunderstood, Critic Says”
By JAMES RISEN
Published: November 8, 2004 NEW YORK TIMES
“WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 - The Bush administration has failed to recognize that Al Qaeda is now a global Islamic insurgency, rather than a traditional terrorist organization, and so poses a much different threat than previously believed, says a senior counterterrorism official at the Central Intelligence Agency”
“Michael Scheuer, the former chief of the C.I.A.'s Osama bin Laden unit and the author of a best-selling book critical of the administration's handling of the fight against terrorism, said in an interview with The New York Times this weekend that the government "doesn't respect the threat" because most officials still regard Al Qaeda as a terrorist organization that can be defeated by arresting or killing its operatives one at a time”
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/08/politics/08intel.html

“DOD Warned About Halliburton Contracts” (USAT)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-10-28-fbi-halliburton_x.htm?csp=21&pubda te=Mon%20Nov%201%2012%3A36%3A44%20EST%202004

MSNBC “Texas amends textbooks to define marriage” (11-5-04) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6418029/

MSNBC “Texas Serial Killer Could Walk the Streets Again” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6417091/

Oct 29 New York Times:
Missing Explossives:“Video Shows GI at Weapons Cache”
“A videotape made by a television crew with American troops when they opened bunkers at a sprawling Iraqi munitions complex south of Baghdad shows a huge supply of explosives still there nine days after the fall of Saddam Hussein, apparently including some sealed earlier by the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/29/politics/29bomb.html?hp&ex=1099108800&en=7b767c25018d e326&ei=5094&partner=homepage

USA Today 11-1-04 “DOD warned about Halliburton contracts”
“WASHINGTON — The Pentagon extended a Halliburton Co. contract for 11 months beyond its expiration despite warnings that the company was "out of control" in its work providing troop support in the Balkans, government memos showed”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-10-28-fbi-halliburton_x.htm?csp=21&a mp;pubdate=Mon%20Nov%201%2012%3A36%3A44%20EST%202004

MSNBC 10-22“Bush quietly signs corporate tax-cut bill
$136 billion measure assailed for catering to special interests”
The Associated Press
Updated: 4:44 p.m. ET Oct. 22, 2004
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6307293/
“WASHINGTON - With no fanfare, President Bush Friday signed the most sweeping rewrite of corporate tax law in nearly two decades, showering $136 billion in new tax breaks on businesses, farmers and other groups.
Intended to end a bitter trade war with Europe, the election-year measure was described by supporters as critically necessary to aid beleaguered manufacturers who have suffered 2.7 million lost jobs over the past four years.”

About.com: (10-18-04)
http://uspolitics.about.com/b/a/2004_10_18.htm
“ Local Advertisers Pulling Out; Internal Exec Denounces Decision
News reports show that local advertisers in Maine, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota have pulled ads from Sinclair-owned stations to protest the conglomerate's decision to force local stations to run the controversial film "Stolen Honor." Even Sinclair's own Washington, DC news chief, Jon Leiberman, has protested: "It's biased political propaganda, with clear intentions to sway this election. For me, it's not about right or left -- it's about what's right or wrong in news coverage this close to an election." “

“Polls; views of America worsening’ (USAt, 10-15-04)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-10-15-poll_x.htm?csp=21&pub date=Sat%20Oct%2016%2019%3A03%3A20%20EDT%202004

“Fabricated Kerry Posting Leads to Apology from Fox News” (NYTimes 10-2)
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/03/politics/campaign/03fox.html
“Plenty of news media analysts thought Senator John Kerry looked good at Thursday night's presidential debate, but Fox News went a step further, posting a made-up news article on its Web site that quoted Mr. Kerry as gloating about his fine manicure and his "metrosexual" appearance.
Fox News quickly retracted the article, saying in an editor's note on its Web site that the article "was written in jest and should not have been posted or broadcast.'' “

Rather, CBS apologize over controversial Bush Guard “documents” (CBS,9-20) http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/20/politics/main644539.shtml
(see link below to actual letters in question)
Rather states “I’m sorry.”

U.S. Inspector’s Report: No WMD in Iraq (USAT, 9-18) http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-09-18-iraq-nowmd_x.htm
“Since 2002, official U.S. statements have consistently obscured the fact that the Iraqis would have remained under close, on-scene monitoring for years to come, if Blix's U.N. inspection regime had not been short-circuited by the American invasion.
Once U.N. inspectors certified that Baghdad's weapons work had ceased, U.N. economic sanctions against Iraq would have been lifted. But then the Security Council would have imposed an open-ended verification regime, whose free-ranging inspectors would have kept watch on Iraq's military-industrial complex, aided by air and water sampling technology, satellite and aerial surveillance, and monitoring of imports.”

“Intelligence report: Iraq prospects bleak” (AP/CNN 9-16) http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/16/us.iraq.ap/index.html
New York Times (9-16) http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-iraq-intelligence.html

Congress Allows 1994 U.S. Assault Weapons Ban to Expire September 13, 2004 despite police chiefs’ and public opinions (USAT 9-9)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-09-09-assaultwaepons-law_x. htm
http://www.afrtrust.org/
“Rove Speaks out on Bush Win” (USA T, 11-04)
“By Jim Drinkard, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — President Bush "absolutely" will use his second term to push for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, his top political strategist said Sunday. Karl Rove, who oversaw Bush's re-election victory, said Bush will renew the effort, which failed in Congress this year but may enjoy new support after 11 states approved bans on same-sex marriage on Election Day”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-11-07-rove-intervie w_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA

“Greenspan Warns That U.S. Deficits Pose Risk to Dollar” (NYT, 11-19-04)
“FRANKFURT, Nov. 19 - Alan Greenspan came to the home of the euro today and warned anxious Europeans to expect little relief from the relentless decline of the dollar against their currency”
“This is not the first time Mr. Greenspan has warned about the risks of a spiraling current-account deficit. In testimony before Congress last February, he said "foreign investors, both private and official, may become less willing to absorb ever-growing claims on U.S. residents."
“As he did last winter, Mr. Greenspan said today that his preferred remedy would be for the Bush administration to bring down both the current-account and budget deficits. That would encourage household savings in the United States, which are also at extraordinarily low levels”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/19/business/19cnd-greenspan.html?hp&ex=1100926800&en=265 918b7fd2a8d29&ei=5094&partner=homepage

“U.S. General speals out on new abuse probe” (USAt, 12-5)
“Gen. Mark Kimmitt, now based in Qatar, spoke on the pan-Arab television network a day after the U.S. military launched a criminal investigation into photographs that appear to show Navy SEALs in Iraq sitting on hooded and handcuffed detainees.
Other photos show what appear to be bloodied prisoners, one with a gun to his head.
The photos, found by an Associated Press reporter, were among hundreds in an album posted on a commercial photo-sharing Web site by a woman who said her husband brought them from Iraq after his tour of duty.”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-12-05-kimmitt_x.htm?csp=21&pubdate=Mon %20Dec%206%2007%3A43%3A20%20EST%202004

Bush Moves to Privatize Social Security (USAt, 11-15)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-11-10-social-security_x.htm?csp=21&pubda te=Mon%20Nov%2015%2013%3A36%3A45%20EST%202004
“A starting point is a plan proposed by a presidential commission in 2001 that would divert 2% of workers' payroll taxes into private accounts. The remaining 4.2% — and the Social Security taxes employers pay — would go into the system, helping fund benefits for current retirees. That leaves a shortfall of at least $2 trillion to continue funding benefits for those current retirees.”

2 TRILLION DOLLARS 2,000,000,000,000.00 ( TWO MILLION MILLION DOLLARS)

USA Today 11-1-04 “DOD warned about Halliburton contracts”
“WASHINGTON — The Pentagon extended a Halliburton Co. contract for 11 months beyond its expiration despite warnings that the company was "out of control" in its work providing troop support in the Balkans, government memos showed”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-10-28-fbi-halliburton_x.htm?csp=21&a mp;pubdate=Mon%20Nov%201%2012%3A36%3A44%20EST%202004

Rather, CBS apologize over controversial Bush Guard “documents” (CBS,9-20) http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/20/politics/main644539.shtml
(see link below to actual letters in question)
Rather states “I’m sorry.”

U.S. Inspector’s Report: No WMD in Iraq (USAT, 9-18) http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-09-18-iraq-nowmd_x.htm

“Intelligence report: Iraq prospects bleak” (AP/CNN 9-16) http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/09/16/us.iraq.ap/index.html
New York Times (9-16) http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-iraq-intelligence.html

Gallup Poll:”Bush Bounce Keeps Going” (Gallup, 9-17)
http://www.gallup.com/poll/content/?ci=13066

Harris Poll: “Bush convention bounce vanishes” (Harris, 9-16) http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=495

First presidential debate Sept 30, 2004

Congress Allows 1994 U.S. Assault Weapons Ban to Expire September 13, 2004 despite police chiefs’ and public opinions (USAT 9-9)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-09-09-assaultwaepons-law_x. htm

Was CBS duped by fake Bush National Guard records? See the documents for yourself (USA Today,9-9, PDF)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-09-09bushdocs.pdf

Hurricane Ivan www.weatherchannel.com

“Medicare premiums to see record rise” (9-4,CNN) http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/09/04/medicare.premiums.ap/index.html
“Medicare premiums for doctor visits are going up a record $11.60 a month next year . . . doctor visits and most other non-hospital expenses -- will jump to $78.20 from $66.60, a 17 percent increase, the administration said Friday.”

“Democrats step up attack on Bush Guard record” - Authenticity of some records shown on CBS questioned by some experts according to Wash Post (WP, 9-9) www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9972-2004Sep9.html

“Questions raised about Bush guard service” (BG, 9-9) http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2004/09/09/memos_sh ow_bush_suspended_from_flying/

President Bush speaks at RNC (9-2) www.cpanradio.org (video speeches avail on demand)

NY Times Text and Video of RNC Speeches http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/30/politics/campaign/RNC_SPEECHES.html
About.com: (10-18-04)
http://uspolitics.about.com/b/a/2004_10_18.htm
“ Local Advertisers Pulling Out; Internal Exec Denounces Decision
News reports show that local advertisers in Maine, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota have pulled ads from Sinclair-owned stations to protest the conglomerate's decision to force local stations to run the controversial film "Stolen Honor." Even Sinclair's own Washington, DC news chief, Jon Leiberman, has protested: "It's biased political propaganda, with clear intentions to sway this election. For me, it's not about right or left -- it's about what's right or wrong in news coverage this close to an election." “